Like much of Plymouth, the pier on The Hoe was a victim of the 1941 Blitz, its wooden promenade and superstructure engulfed by flames from incendiary bombs.

Built in 1880, the pier was destroyed by enemy bombing, but its rusting remains were not taken down until 1952.

After the war, the people of Plymouth called for it to be rebuilt, but the Admiralty said it would be in the way of large warships, like the 44,000 tonne Vanguard, and the aircraft carriers Eagle and Ark Royal, both over 40,000 tonnes.

This is how the pier would have looked if still there today

In 2011, ambitious plans were drawn up to place a new "futuristic" structure on the footprint of the old pier.

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But the project, formulated by then waterfront campaigner Tam Macpherson, would not merely see the old pier reinstated – but replaced with a modern, eco-friendly, design built to “entertain and educate”.

But the £15million scheme inevitably fell through, and now any hopes to reinstate the pier look unfeasible and unrealistic.

The Plymouth Promenade Pier: What happened?

Twelve years after the pier was left a charred skeleton after enemy incendiaries had devastated the structure, the directors of the Plymouth Piers Pavilion and Saltash Three Towns Steamship Co made the decision not to rebuild it.

Between 400-500ft long and 190ft wide at the Pavilion end, it was a striking feature of Plymouth’s waterfront.

The 1880s, which is when the pier was built, was a decade which saw many improvements to The Hoe, now a place which draws in visitors from near and afar en masse.

And throughout the Victorian period there was a general gentrification of the Hoe, aspects of which we take for granted today.

Due to financial difficultires, the pier, named the Promenade Pier, was built in two phases.

The second phase saw 2,000-seater pavilion added to the 500ft building

The original promenade pier was opened in May 1884 and was built on iron columns embedded in rocks at a cost of £45,000.

The second phase was complete in 1891, the same year the Belvedere, colloquially known as the Hoe Wedding Cake, was built at its head.

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This phase saw a 2,000-seater pavilion added to the 500ft building, which was widely used for roller skating, dancing, boxing, wrestling and band concerts, among other things.

The Promenade Pier was still a prime feature on The Hoe foreshore before World War Two broke out. It was much-loved and much-used by local swimming groups, including the Plymouth Ladies' Swimming Club.

It was between 400-500ft long and 190ft wide at the Pavilion end

Its rusting remains were not taken down until 1952

It proved a lucrative money-spinner for the first decades of the last century and was very popular with all age groups. But its popularity declined with the growth in radio and television and by 1935 it was losing money.

And in 1941 it fell victim to the German airforce and was left a burnt-out derelict, twisted skeleton.

After the war, city authorities decided not to rebuild the pier and the site was completely demolished. But that has not stopped several attempts to rebuild the structure.

Plymouth Pier: Attempts to rebuild it

These plans for the pier never left the drawing board (Image: AWW Architects)

Things on the pier front have stayed quiet since (Image: AWW Architects)

Four or more separate plans have been drawn up in the last 20 years, but none have ever got off the drawing board.

Proposals from developers in 1990 included a 63-bedroom hotel, a casino, and a pub.

A city architect even came up with a plan including a marine world exhibit on the pier, long before the nearby National Marine Aquarium opened.

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Another plan from a city engineer in 1995 also failed to get off the ground.

And in 2011, support was growing for a plan to build a £15million “futuristic” pier with a building of up to five storeys, housing such facilities as a conference hall, restaurants, shops, berthing for vessels including water taxis, public toilets, fishing pontoons and even a monorail.

This is how the pier would have looked if still there today

Plymouth’s AWW Architects produced dynamic images of how the pier could look which envisaged a contemporary, flexible space with a central area adapted for uses including exhibitions, stage shows, or theatrical productions.

But then city council leader Vivien Pengelly said the price for the pier would be beyond the council and it would need funding for a feasibility study to begin with - and nothing has been heard about it since.

Plymouth Hoe: Today

Stunning aerial view of Plymouth Hoe

Thousands of pounds are set to be spent upgrading Plymouth’s waterfront – including creating space for businesses and even markets.

Among a wish-list for the waterfront are plans to put a roof on the dilapidated “lion’s den” area and use it for markets, and to open up the disused Edwardian buildings at Tinside Cove for potential commercial space.

Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, working with other organisations, also intends to spend up to £40,000 installing new “monolith” information boards around the seafront.

It is also eyeing a mass flower planting splurge, to brighten the area, and wants to replace tired and ignored plaques with bright and noticeable blue versions.

Mrs Gibson said the BID will also work closely with Plymouth City Council on a mass coastal planting scheme. That could see flowerbeds blooming in the area around Tinside Cove.

“The board is looking for opportunities where we can work with Plymouth City Council to make the best use of the Hoe foreshore,” she said. “We want to explore how we best go about reviewing vegetation and how we introduce planting schemes.

“But at the same time protect our heritage, like the Plymouth thistle which grows along the Hoe, so it’s about consultation.”

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“We are looking at the opportunity along the foreshore to generate more commercial investment – more opportunities for business trading.

“We have a lot of buildings here that are not in use, so we want to explore that.

“And the Lion’s Den used to have a roof. It could be used for anything, we could put markets or events there.

“The Tinside Cove area has so many opportunities that we’d like to explore with the council.”

Destination Plymouth, Plymouth City Council, and the City Centre Company are working in partnership with businesses in both the Waterfront and City Centre BID areas to deliver improvements, many of them needed prior to the Mayflower 400 celebrations in 2020.